Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse • Hacker News Board

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#231

Post by squeek502 » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:24 PM UTC

recursive wrote: post #200

prophesi wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP, but for me I'm wary whenever I see in-game currency (Minecoins). Thankfully there are no gambling mechanics tied in to Minecoins directly, but the server ecosystem is still rampant with gambling just the same[0]. [0] https://feedback.minecraft.net/hc/en-us/community/posts/3600...

I agree regarding in-game currency. I find it distasteful. But in my mind, paid mods are a different thing that can exist independently. I don't find those distasteful. I find their existence slightly positive.

> Any Mods you create for Minecraft: Java Edition from scratch belong to you (including pre-run Mods and in-memory Mods) and you can do whatever you want with them, as long as you don't sell them for money / try to make money from them

https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/eula

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#232

Post by PunchyHamster » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:28 PM UTC

cogogo wrote: post #201

bmurphy1976 wrote: post #6

It's a nightmare managing all this stuff. Roblox, Minecraft, Meta Quest services, Fortnite, the list goes on and on. These companies are not helping us either. Thankfully my son and his friends have somehow iterated away from Fortnite. It's no longer cool so they just stopped playing it. That's one less thing I have to worry about.

Agree massive headache. Our kids go to the boys and girls club after school where they were playing roblox during computer time. Some parents apparently complained and it’s now banned. Not sure of that is local or nation-wide. They were kind of annoyed but they seem to understand why. I am definitely worried about giving them the tools they need to navigate the online jungle when they are older.

School (or parents) running local servers for kids in school to play to avoid the whole bunch of dangers of open online would be interesting turn back to gaming roots

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#233

Post by mghackerlady » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:28 PM UTC

thinkingtoilet wrote: post #177

worldsavior wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully? Why don't you just forbid him to play Fortnite? Sounds like your son doesn't listen to you, and that's a problem.

People are downvoting this but it's the correct response. I will never worry about Roblox because my child will never be able to play it at home. Problem solved. I understand that maybe non-technical people might not know to think about these things, but in this crowd this response should be the most upvoted. These things are poinsons. Don't feed your children poison. It's pretty simple. "They'll be left out!" Good!…

I'm happy parents like you exist. I was growing up in the time it started being acceptable to give 10 year olds smartphones, and I desperately wanted one. My parents didn't get me one (mostly because we were broke). I eventually got one and while I will sing the praises of letting kids access the internet with less guardrails, the instant always connected access to the internet did a number to my mental health and I eventually switched to a dumbphone.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#234

Post by PunchyHamster » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:28 PM UTC

recursive wrote: post #109

ACCount37 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Minecraft by itself is benign, but online servers? Oh boy. Full tilt P2W servers, ran by low key cybercriminals, with I Can't Believe It's Not Gambling mechanics targeting children. And Mojang itself is adding fuel to the fire by selling paid mods - for Bedrock only, which is the version most children play. Then there's the usual boon of online gaming - getting to interact with the shadiest characters you've ever met…

What's wrong with paid mods?

> with I Can't Believe It's Not Gambling mechanics targeting children

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#235

Post by iamnothere » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:30 PM UTC

zzzeek wrote: post #210

iamnothere wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They literally said dangerous products couldn’t be sold to consumers in general. Obvious nonsense or chainsaws would require a license. I am pushing back against the safetyist notion that unsafe products cannot or should not be sold to the public.

A correctly manufactured chainsaw can be used safely by adults. Products like "MoonSoll and Magic Chems Fuel Bottles" [1], "Tesla Powerwall 2 AC Battery Power Systems" [2] and literally tens of thousands of other products listed at [3] have been determined that they can not be used safely by adults, and are literally taken off store shelves until the issues can be resolved. It is a normal, everyday occurrence that ma…

The first example is a labeling and packaging issue, the second is a malfunctioning product. There are plenty of fuel oil bottles available on the market and other much sketchier (though not obviously malfunctioning) batteries that haven’t been pulled. The available alternatives are still dangerous and potentially flammable, they just don’t meet the criteria set for shipping, storing, and normal usage.

Chainsaws can be used somewhat safely, but they are never totally safe. Chainsaws are inherently dangerous. But if a broken chainsaw that always cuts off your arm makes it to market, yes it will be pulled whether it’s a recall or a lawsuit.

> think "kids committed suicide due to interactions on Roblox" being held equivalently to "kids have been suffocated by this defactive crib"

Psychological harm is notoriously difficult to measure (was it really Roblox or was it bullying?) and is a political football. I’m not sure that it’s a good idea to open that box for a multitude of reasons. (For one thing every website on the internet would immediately face a mountain of lawsuits.)

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#236

Post by PunchyHamster » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:32 PM UTC

coryrc wrote: post #73

Pet_Ant wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Physical play is nigh impossible. It means getting other kid's parents to let them out. And then you need to spend your full-time supervising them. Can't just let them out with their bikes on the streets. I think the problem is that either you can give children freedom to explore the world, or you can make them accountable for their actions. Can't have both, and parents will protect their kids by not letting them get…

You can't let them out because they keep getting killed by automobiles. https://walksf.org/2023/06/28/pedestrian-deaths-reach-highes... https://www.statista.com/chart/17194/pedestrian-fatalities-i... https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/driveway-danger...

Summer's highest case of kid accidents that ended in hospital in my country were the escooters, parents just buy whatever looks good in ad, not caring to train kid (technically moped license is needed) or even get one that's actually legal (with speed limit).

End result - machine capable of going 50km/h or faster (think they caught one doing 90) in hands of young teen or outright kid. Hell, there was even a trucker that reported getting overtaken by one...

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#237

Post by tsoukase » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:32 PM UTC

We, parents, are in a constant fight with an addictive drug with which some companies are trying to control our children through light emitted by electronic screens.

My sons started playing Roblox a month ago. I allow only half an hour time limit, so that they are not get cut from their friends, no friend that they don't know in person and no cent spent for bullshit objects.

Unlimited unattended hovering in Roblox, among others, is recipe for disaster.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#238

Post by mghackerlady » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:33 PM UTC

robot-wrangler wrote: post #203

darth_avocado wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s pretty much the antithesis of online gaming. You’re not ONLY playing with other kids you know. Edit: There’s two problems that need to be solved. Parents need to not offload all their responsibilities to a multibillion dollar corporation and hope it works 100% of the time. And corporations need to prioritize safety more than they do now. It dumbfounds me how many times I get called the N word on Xbox and nothi…

What important aspects of gameplay are destroyed by age-restricting DMs?

hell, the argument that it's needed to allow users to collaborate is dumb. Just have a list of specified phrases and severely limit other forms of communications, we figured this out with club penguin people it's not that hard

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#239

Post by PunchyHamster » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:36 PM UTC

wartywhoa23 wrote: post #126

watwut wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We played tag at building sites, jumping gaps meter wide and five deep, made explosives out of match sticks As someone who thinks kids should have freedom, like kids in Germany or Japan have, I hate it when ridiculous arguments like these show up. Look, if you was regularly doing all that, you probably should not have all that freedom. But, most kids are actually more reasonable, if raised right.

What problem with me as I am now would you solve if you had any power to prevent me from being a kid and doing pretty common things kids were doing then ? See, neither me nor any of my friends became terrorist bombers, heck, there is not even a single stuntman around us! On the contrary, that unimaginably dangerous activity in our childhood raised responsibility in us better than any supervision. We knew what we did.…

till you are with that kid that is a bit too brave and a bit too eager and they do drop in some hole and break a leg or worse. That's what parents are afraid of, they remember some "close" accident in their childhood and want to make their kids not get chance to do a mistake.

Now ideally parents would just keep an eye on them, teach the kids, and maybe even "help" in potentially dangerous-yet-fun-for-kid stuff to make it not dangerous

...but parents now don't want to spend time just like parents back then didn't wanted to spend time and let kids alone to their own devices. Only difference before parents kicked kids outside while now parents give them ipad...

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#240

Post by darth_avocado » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 8:38 PM UTC

robot-wrangler wrote: post #203

darth_avocado wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s pretty much the antithesis of online gaming. You’re not ONLY playing with other kids you know. Edit: There’s two problems that need to be solved. Parents need to not offload all their responsibilities to a multibillion dollar corporation and hope it works 100% of the time. And corporations need to prioritize safety more than they do now. It dumbfounds me how many times I get called the N word on Xbox and nothi…

What important aspects of gameplay are destroyed by age-restricting DMs?

Parent doesn’t talk about age restrictions on DMs and nor do I. We are talking about physical keys and only being restricted to peers that you’d know from school for online play.